Ant Trails and Butterfly Dreams -- Illustrator Interview

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Illustrator Interview

Michelle Gamble

 

Q. What drew you to illustrate Ant Trails and Butterfly Dreams – A Story About Happiness?

 

A. The author Selwa Berbawy Hamati had published three other books with my company, 3L Publishing (www.3LPublishing.com). I painted on the side, and I rarely shared about my paintings. We were talking one day, and she mentioned her desire to write this children’s book based on her new book Real Resilience – Once Upon a Pandemic. I showed her some paintings, but cautioned I don’t like to paint cartoons. She loved my work and soon hired me to illustrate her children’s book. I was happy that she liked fine art and wouldn’t push to create cartoon-like characters, but more fun and beautiful paintings. In fact, she loved the cover so much she bought the original.

Q. How did you decide on the style of the paintings?

A. I wanted the illustrations to create a fun, bright, happy world to convey the theme of the book, which is about teaching children how to manage their emotions. The colors and beauty of the world would not only please children, but also the adults reading the book to the kids. Since the book is about happiness, these illustrations convey positive imagery.  

Q. Which image is your favorite?

A. I love the cover image. It has all of the characters in the story, and it’s nicely balanced. Also, while it’s not apparent most of these images are 18 x 24 in size. So, the originals are even more amazing and dramatic to see in person.

Q. Do you have more children’s books in the works?

A. Not at this time, but I hope to do more illustrating in the future. I really felt blessed to work on this project and help tell this story. Anyone reading this interview who would like to hire me, send an email to info@3LPublishing.com.

Q. Where can I get a copy?

A. On the 3L Publishing website at: https://3l-publishing.myshopify.com/collections/all 

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